Burn ban possible for Pasco County

HUDSON, Fla. -- Not even two months after Famous Sal's Pizza opened its doors, employees found themselves dangerously close to a massive wildfire.

"You could actually see the flames coming out from over the top of the trees," said co-owner Patricia Britton.

The fire that spread next to their shopping center was started on Monday by a campfire. But it's certainly not the first fire to break out in Pasco County over the last couple months.

In fact, Pasco County Fire Investigator Joseph Valente says he's had to arrest quite a few people for burning recklessly, a charge that can be treated as a felony. Now, he and other Pasco County fire officials are trying to keeptheproblemfrom spreading like wildfire.

"When it gets severely dry out here, and people still have their recreational burns, this is the outcome," Valente said."Embers travel far distances and people don't realize how far those embers travel."

"It basically tells everybody to stop burning because apparently they're not heeding the warnings now that we're giving out," said Valente."Even a small fire can burn debris and yard waste and start a major brush fire."

Surrounding businesses are happy to hear that a ban is being considered.

"It would make us feel more comfortable if they put in some sort of burn ban," said Britton. "There are a lot of wooded areas around there that it could happen to at any particular moment."

Pasco County approved a burn ban last year, shortly before the Fourth of July. At that point, the drought index was just as bad as it is right now.